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100% Whole Wheat Stuffing Muffins with Sausage and Parmesan!

Sometimes I share long-time favorite recipes that are a bit higher in carbs or more indulgent than the usual low-carb ideas you find here, and this recipe for 100% Whole Wheat Stuffing Muffins with Sausage and Parmesan is something I’ve made for Thanksgiving every year since 2010. If you like stuffing that’s crispy on the edges, you might enjoy these for a Thanksgiving treat! And I’m excited Thanksgiving is nearly here, and excited to remind you about these amazing stuffing muffins that have become a holiday classic at my house. And as promised, I’ve already made them with Kara for Thanksgiving 2016, and updated the original photos with some better ones. (And we’ll freeze the stuffing muffins to reheat on turkey day!)

Of course, these aren’t really muffins, but I love the idea of baking stuffing in muffin cups so all the edges are nice and crispy. It also helps with portion control, which may or may not be something you care about for Thanksgiving. And to make the stuffing muffins healthier than regular Thanksgiving stuffing I used 100% whole wheat bread, and the sausage, Parmesan, and egg are tasty low-carb additions. No doubt about it, these stuffing muffins are really a winner if you’re looking for a tasty stuffing idea that’s a bit healthier!

How to Make 100% Whole Wheat Stuffing Muffins with Sausage and Parmesan:

(Scroll down for complete printable recipe.)

I like to use two kinds of 100% whole wheat bread; if you’re watching carbs or following the South Beach Diet, choose bread with the lowest amount of sugar you can find. Cut the bread into cubes about 1/2 inch square and toast on a baking sheet for 10 minutes, then turn and toast for 10 more minutes.

While the bread cubes toast, brown the sausage well in a heavy frying pan, then put the browned sausage into a large bowl.

By now your bread cubes should be slightly dried out and starting to brown.

Add onion-celery mixture to the bowl with the sausage.

Whisk together stock and eggs.

Mix the bread cubes into the sausage and veggies, stir in the parmesan, then add the stock-egg mixture a little at a time, stirring until all the bread is moistened.

Use a heaping 1/3 cup measure to scoop out stuffing and pack it down into the muffin cup, then I pressed down each “muffin” so it was well-packed together.

Bake the muffins about 30 minutes, or until the top is getting lightly browned and the stuffing is hot clear through. I would start checking them after about 20 minutes; some bread will brown more quickly than others.

If you’re going to reheat them when you get to your dinner destination, bake for a shorter time to start.

Directions:

Put bread cubes on a large baking sheet and toast in the oven 10 minutes, then turn the bread over and toast 10 minutes more, or until bread is dried out and very lightly browned.

While bread toasts, heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a heavy frying pan, add sausage, and cook until well browned and completely cooked, about 10 minutes. Break the sausage apart with a metal turner as it cooks so you have small pieces to mix throughout the stuffing.

Put the browned sausage into a large mixing bowl, then wipe out extra fat from the frying pan with a paper towel. (I “patted” with the paper towel to leave the crumbled pieces of sausage in the pan while wiping out the fat.)

Heat 1 T butter or olive oil in the frying pan, then add finely diced onion and celery and cook over medium heat until vegetables are softened and barely starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Add dried sage, poultry seasoning, and salt and cook 1-2 minutes more. Add the onion/celery mixture to the mixing bowl.

When bread cubes are toasted, add them to mixing bowl and increase oven temperature to 400F/200C. Add Parmesan cheese and mix well so that all the bread cubes are lightly coated with Parmesan.

Whisk together the chicken stock and eggs, then add that 1/3 at a time, pouring over the surface of the stuffing mixture each time and then stirring, so all the bread cubes are lightly moistened.

Spray metal muffin pan very well with nonstick spray. Use a measuring cup to add heaping 1/3 cup to each muffin cup, pressing down each muffin so it’s well-packed together. (I used the measuring cup to pack down the “muffins”, then pressed them together again with my fingers when they were all filled.)

Bake muffins 30 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and they’re hot clear through. (I would start checking after 20 minutes. If you’re going to reheat them when you get to your dinner destination, I’d bake for a shorter time to start and then heat/crisp at a high temperature right before you serve them.)

Let cool for about 5 minutes before you remove them from pan, and then use a knife to go around the edge of each “muffin” before you lift them out of the muffin pan.

Serve hot, with turkey gravy of course!

Notes:

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
To make the most South Beach Diet friendly or low-glycemic version of 100% Whole Wheat Stuffing Muffins with Sausage and Parmesan choose bread that has the least possible grams of sugar. South Beach would also recommend you use turkey sausage, and cook the vegetables in olive oil instead of butter. However, even if you use low-fat pork sausage and 1 T of butter like I did, this is a pretty diet-friendly recipe for a special occasion. This is too high in carbs for a traditional low-carb diet plan unless you’re having a splurge for Thanksgiving.

Nutritional Information?
If you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into this nutrition analyzer, which will calculate it for you. Or if you’re a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.

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Individual servings of stuffing in the form of a muffin is a really cute idea! I'm not in charge of bringing stuffing this year, but I sent this recipe to my sister in hopes that she makes these! Hoping she picks a really spicy and flavorful sausage!